Jerry West: Kobe didn’t look like same player, possibly came back too soon

Hall of Famer Jerry West joined the show to talk about Kobe Bryant’s recent injury and more.

West had interesting comments on Kobe Bryant. “To me he didn’t look like the same player,” West said. “His shooting will always be there. I think if he had rested a couple of months we might have seen a different Kobe Bryant.” West suggested Bryant probably would have been wise to wait a couple of months.

West said that Bryant’s mindset won’t help him get healthy. “He doesn’t take no for an answer,” West said. “He’s set in his ways.”

West doesn’t buy Warriors coach Mark Jackson’s claim that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the best outside-shooting backcourt duo of all time. “To me a quality of work over a period of time is going to determine how you view these things,” West said.

Just a little side story here: When I was in about third or fourth grade, and West was in the late stages of his career, he was injured and out of action for a while. I was a total Lakers fan (we lived just a couple of miles from the Forum), and one of my parents, I forget which one, suggested I could send him a get-well card. So I did. About a week later, I got a handwritten thank-you note from the man himself. Not even remotely kidding. I already wanted to do everything he did, but that really sealed it.